Move Over Vista

“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to you door.” So said Emerson. And that seems to be the mantra at Microsoft. The company debuted its latest work-in-progress, Windows 7, at the Wall Street Journal’s D: All Things Digital Conference (D6) in May. There was, I’m sure, a global sigh of relief. Many of us had been holding our collective breath in anticipation of Vista revisited, which we feared might produce a gangly operating system with a set of steroid-enhanced service packs. But, apparently, the techno Gods have spoken and there will be no Vista, Jr. At least not for now. (Let us pause a moment and give thanks.) Okay, time’s up. Let’s talk about Windows 7.

At this stage, Microsoft is being uncharacteristically low-key when discussing the platform. There’s been no talk of grand marketing plans or beta release schedules. However, the D6 Conference allowed the company to drop a few hints (very few) about what we can expect when Windows 7 appears in stores late 2009 or early 2010.

“Multi-touch” was the buzzword. Microsoft has long been at work on multi-touch technologies. In 2007, the company unveiled Surface, an interactive digital table computer aimed at hotels, casinos, restaurants, etc. More recently, a multi-touch office whiteboard called TouchWall has garnered attention. Windows 7 appears to build on the Surface and TouchWall projects, and it also incorporates supporting technologies from N-trig and Tyco Electronics to create multi-touch features for laptops and PCs. Such touch screen technologies (think Apple’s iPhone) will give our fingertips the capacity to open applications, move and resize images, rotate a globe, navigate maps, draw, and play a virtual piano. If you’ve got a moment, click here to see Microsoft’s six-minute demonstration. Pressed for time? Click here for a two-minute version of the demonstration. Nice, huh? But don’t throw your mouse out just yet, okay?

Beyond the touch screen wonders showcased at D6, other Windows 7 details have emerged from talks and interviews with Microsoft executives. In a recent interview with cnetNews.com, Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live Engineering, indicated that we can look forward to fewer compatibility challenges, so drivers and software that work on Vista should work with Windows 7. And Sinofsky signaled that Windows 7 will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. We can also expect a leaner kernel, according to Microsoft engineer Eric Traut. Speaking on the topic of virtualization at the University of Illinois in October 2007, Traut described work that has been done to refine the kernel architecture. The resulting microkernel, known internally as MinWin, will likely be the basis for forthcoming products. For Windows 7, this could translate into a smaller OS memory footprint, better security, and increased system speed. To illustrate this concept, Traut showed a rendering of MinWin consisting of 100 files, which took up 25 Mb of disk space and ran in 40 Mb of RAM. Just an ever so tiny glimpse of the future. And for now that’s all we know about Vista’s successor.

Up next, developers can get a peek under the hood of Windows 7 at the 2008 Microsoft Professional Developers Conference, which takes place October 27-30 in Los Angeles. Scheduled Windows 7 sessions include: “Touch Computing,” “Web Services in Native Code,” “Graphic Advances,” and a decidedly eco-friendly offering – “Optimizing for Energy Efficiency and Battery Life.”

Hmmm…could Windows 7 possibly have a green alter ego? Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.